As a way of getting some input about my memoir, took a copy of it to work and had a couple people read and comment on it. It was harder to hand over than I thought it would be! I know and trust the people, but still had doubt in the back of my mind. It's like when we talked in class about students not knowing if their writing is good unless the teacher tells them it is with a good grade.
Maybe it is a little different for me as I am not an English major, so I've done less sharing of my writing in the past, but I felt like a little kid! It seemed like their readings took so long and I thought that maybe they were trying to think of something nice to say, etc. In actuality, I pretty much know my own writing so well I can quickly scan for certain parts in a matter of seconds. These readers were taking time to really read the piece. I liked that the one reader had food in front of her, but she wanted to finish reading before she started to eat. That made me feel like it must have been compelling enough for her Charlie's to get cold!
I asked them what I could change and they both mentioned the sequencing, which is what I have been having trouble with the last couple of weeks. The one said that the piece definitely had my voice and that she would have guessed I'd written it if it didn't have a name on it. Hooray! I can't believe we are turning in a "final" draft next week--I could keep working on this memoir for the rest of the year easily.
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I think that idea of recharging is a really important one. It seems like teachers so often feel guilty about taking time for themselves that they forget that by doing so they are still indirectly helping their students. The only worry with such a mentality is practicing it too often, I guess.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't any easier to turn your writing over if you're an English major. Believe me! I still have to triple check my writing before I'll let my husband read it, and he is the only proof reader I use. Writing is personal, it is a part of yourself, and we often protect it rather than submit it to scrutiny.
ReplyDeleteI experienced the same thing you did. Handing over my writing to be workshopped for the first time was terrifying. The way I got over it, though, was to first get over my internal critic. I am my hardest critic, and once I can get past myself, handing my work over to other people is much easier.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you; allowing others to glimpse personal writing is scary (and I'm an English major!). Somehow, though, it seems easy to forget these feelings as the teacher. Students attach so much anxiety to their writing, especially when they think the teacher only reads to evaluate. I hope to try and remember these feelings when I have my future students write.
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